Tom Gosner, the "father of electronic signatures," set up DocuSign (ESIGN) in 2003 as a Digital Transaction Management platform that could help companies automate processes that needed physical signatures. The process of getting a physical signature slows down several business processes. By digitizing the requirement, DocuSign has helped several industries, in particular the real estate industry, speed up paperwork.

DocuSign's cloud-based platform has seen significant adoption. Today, their services are used by more than 50 million users across 188 countries in 43 languages. They have been deployed in over 100,000 companies and see an enrollment of over 50,000 new unique users every day. Their cloud signature process shows completion of over 51% documents within an hour of initiation.

DocuSign earns revenues through a subscription-based model with fees ranging from $10 per month for individuals to $125 per user per month for businesses. Being privately held, DocuSign does not disclose its financials or customer metrics to ascertain revenue potential.

DocuSign has successfully adapted to the mobile world by delivering an intuitive mobile app that allows users to sign and return documents for free. DocuSign has had a first mover advantage in the space and has managed to amass a gigantic user base. But it's facing stiff competition from bigger players. In 2011, Adobe entered the space with the acquisition of echoSign to release its eSign offering. Like DocuSign, Adobe too offers its products at a monthly subscription fee ranging from $10 for individuals to $45 per seat per month for businesses.